Open-end spinning of textile yarns

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for the open-end spinning of textile yarns includes improved means for extracting impurities (removing trash) from the fibrous material before it is fed to the spinning zone. The apparatus comprises conveying means for conveying fibrous material from feed means to the spinning means along a conveying path in which the fibres are subjected to an opening action, the conveying means including a rotating roller having an apertured peripheral wall on the outer surface of which the opened fibres or the fibres being opened are conveyed and suction means for applying suction internally of the roller to remove impurities from the fibres and withdraw the impurities through apertures in the peripheral wall.

United States Patent [191 Ellingham et a1.

[ OPEN-END SPINNING OF TEXTILE YARNS [75] Inventors: Bruce Ellingham, Nelson; Andrew Alexander Chisholm, Clitheroe,

both of England [73] Assignee: Platt International Limited, Oldham,

Lancashire, England [22] Filed: Aug. 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 279,335

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 11, 1971 Great Britain 37753/71 [52] US. Cl..; 57/56, 15/306 A, 57/5895 [51] Int. Cl. Dlh 11/00, D0lh1/12 [58] Field ofSearch...57/34.5.56.58.89,58.95. 156;

15/305, 306 A, 306 R; 19/105; 68/D1G.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,720,005 /1955 Clark et a1. /306 R 3,064,316 11/1962 Aoki 19/105 3,144,686 8/1964 Aoki 19/105 3,226,774 1/1966 Reiterer 19/105 X 3,650,104 3/1972 Shepherd et al 57/5895 X [11] 3,834,145 Sept. 10, 1974 3,685,272 8/1972 Greenwood et al. 57/5895 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 239,085 12/1969 U.S.S.R 57/5895 Primary Examiner-John W. I-Iuckert Assistant Examiner-Charles Gorenstein Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Watson, Cole, Grindle & Watson [5 7] ABSTRACT An apparatus for the open-end spinning of textile yarns includes improved means for extracting impurities (removing trash) from the fibrous material before it is fed to the spinning zone. The apparatus comprises conveying means for conveying fibrous material from feed means to the spinning means along a conveying path in which the fibres are subjected to an opening action, the conveying means including a rotating roller having an apertured peripheral wall on the outer surface of which the opened fibres or the fibres being opened are conveyed and suction means for applying suction internally of the roller to remove impurities from the fibres and withdraw the impurities through apertures in the peripheral wall.

13 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PAIENTED 01974 3,834,145 SHEET 10F 2 m VIII/11116 1 OPEN-END SPINNING OF TEXTHE YARNS The present invention relates to the open-end spinning of textile yarns and more particularly to an improved apparatus for extracting impurities from the fibrous material prior to the material being fed to a spinning zone.

Various methods of spinning yarns on the open-end principle are known and such methods include pneumatic spinning, electrostatic spinning and rotor spinning. In all of these methods it is essential that the fibres supplied to the spinning zone should be free from any impurities.

The problem of the presence of impurities becomes particularly acute in rotor spinning, since debris builds up in the rotor, causing a rapid deterioration in the properties of the spun yarn, and ultimately resulting in a breakdown of the spinning process. An effective solution to the problem has not previously been found.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for extracting impurities from a supply of fibrous material prior to the fibres being fed in a discrete manner to a spinning zone in an open-end spinning process.

According to the present invention, there is provided apparatus for the open-end spinning of textile yarns in which fibres are formed into a yarn by open-end spinning means into which the fibres are fed in discrete manner, comprising conveying means for conveying fibrous material from feed means to said spinning means along a conveying path in which the fibres are subjected to an opening action, the conveying means including a rotating roller having an apertured peripheral wall on the outer surface of which the opened fibres or the fibres being opened are conveyed and suction means for applying suction internally of the roller to remove impurities from the fibres and withdraw the impurities through an aperture in the peripheral wall.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic part sectional side elevation of an open-end spinning machine for which the present invention is particularly suitable.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the fibre opening elements of the machine shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the elements shown in FIG. 2 taken on the line III-III in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional scrap view taken on the line IV-IV in FIG. 2 and indicating the position of a filter.

Referring firstly to FIG. 1, a sliver is fed to a rotating toothed feed roller 2 through an opening 14. The fibres are conveyed on its peripheral surface until stripped therefrom by a rotating opening roller 3 with an opening action. The opening roller 3 is mounted in a cavity 4 of a housing 5 and is provided with teeth 27 on its periphery. The rotation of opening roller 3 is such that its peripheral speed is greater than that of the feed roller 2 in order to comb and open outthe fibres. Fibres are conveyed on the periphery of the opening roller until they reach the entrance to a fibre feed duct 6 extending tangentially to the opening roller 3, where they leave the opening roller and are conveyed down the fibre feed duct 6. The fibres emerging from the fibre feed duct 6 are deposited on an internal fibre collecting surface 7 of a rotating spinning rotor 8.

The fibres are taken off the fibre collecting surface 7 of the rotor 8 by twisting them into the tail end of a spun yarn 9, which is withdrawn through a doffing tube 10 by a pair of delivery rollers 11 to be wound into a package 12 in a conventional manner.

As seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, the feed roller 2 is enclosed in a casing 13 in which is provided the opening 14 for the sliver. The feed roller 2 is provided with a toothed surface which is formed by a saw toothed type wire 15 wound around the roller to provide a number of rows spaced apart across its face. The opening roller 3, mounted within the cavity 4, is also provided with a toothed surface which is formed by a saw tooth type wire 27 wound around the roller to form a number of rows across the face of the roller and the arrangement is such that fibres carried by the feed roller 2 are stripped therefrom by the rotating opening roller 3 at an inlet 16 to the cavity 4. The cavity 4 is provided with a cover 23 (as best seen in FIG. 3).

With reference to FIG. 3, the opening roller 3 is generally of a dish-shaped configuration and is provided with a bored hub 18 by which it is mounted on a driving shaft 17. A web 19 extends radially from one end of the hub and terminates in a peripheral wall 20 in which a plurality of apertures 21 are formed. The apertures 21 comprise first apertures 21 spaced around the peripheral wall 20 and extending radially therethrough and second apertures 21 also spaced around the circumference of the peripheral wall 20 and extending at an oblique angle to a plane at right angles to the axis of the opening roller. Communicating with the interior of the opening roller 3 is a suction duct 22 (as seen in FIG. 2) connected to a source of suction (not shown) which in operation serves to extract impurities from the fibres carried on the periphery of the roller and withdraw them through the aperture 21 for conveyance through the suction duct 22 to a waste collection point.

A suction effect resulting from either the rotating spinning rotor or from an independent source is also produced in the fibre feed duct 6.in order to aid the removal of fibres from the opening roller 3 and to convey them in discrete form down the duct 6 to be deposited on the fibre collecting surface 7 of the spinning rotor 8. In order to avoid interaction between the air flows emanating from the suction in the suction duct 22 and the suction in the fibre feed duct 6, a baffle insert 24 is provided which is fixedly attached to the housing and which effectively separates the two air flows. The suction duct 22 opens out into a slot 25 in the insert 24 and the slot 25 is so shaped and directed as to cause suction to be applied to the wall 20 of the roller 3 at a point subsequent to the'point of transfer of fibres from the feed roller 2 to the opening roller 3. Preferably the point at which suction is applied to the wall 20 is close to the point of transfer of fibres from the feed roller 2 to the opening roller 3, but is spaced from the point of fibre transfer by a sufficient distance to allow the fibres to be properly laid on the periphery of the opening roller before being subjected to the effect of the suction. Debris tends to adhere to any surfaces not subjected to an air stream and to prevent accumulations of debris, the baffle insert 24 is so shaped as to reduce to a minimum any dead space in the flow path of the air sucked through the apertures 21 and into the duct 22 via the slot 25.

If desired, there may .be'provided a further trash re moval point in the form of a trash removal duct 26 which extends from the periphery of the opening roller 3 to the outside of the'housing. The impurities, being heavier than the fibrous material, tend to lie on the outside of the material carried round on the roller 3 and are stripped therefrom by a stripping edge 29 of a valve member 30 or'are flung into the trash duct 26 due to the high rotational speed of the opening roller 3. A trash collection box (not shown) may be provided at the side of the housing 4 which is periodically emptied.

For processing certain fibres the trash removal duct 26 may be completely closed by the valve member 30 in order to prevent the loss of good fibres. In such cases, it is necessary to allow air to enter the cavity 4 so that the necessary air flow conditions required for satisfactory removal of fibres from the opening roller 3 can be achieved. As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3 an air inlet 31 is formed in the side wall of the housing 5 which is positioned on the opposite side of the insert 24 to that of the slot 25. The aperture of the air inlet 31 may be varied by adjustment of a shutter 32. Under certain processing conditions air inlet 31 may be closed while the trash removal duct 26 is fully open. In other cases, in order to obtain optimum air flow conditions both the air inlet 31 and the trashremoval duct 26 may be opened by predetermined amounts dependant on the requirements of the processing conditions.

The present invention .is applicable to the open-end spinning of short, medium or long staple fibres, but is particularly suitable for use in processing long staple fibres which, when opened by an opening roller ar rangement as hereinbefore specifically described, liberate a large amount of dust (such as spin finish with acrylic fibres) and debris (such as fibre particles and scale in natural fibresas wool).

in the embodiment of the invention hereinbefore described the feed and opening rollers are clothed with a saw tooth type wire. It will however be appreciated that if desired the surfaces of these rollers may be provided with a clothing formed by pins.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by LettersPatent is: r

1. Apparatus for the open-end spinning of textile yarns comprising:

a. feed means,

b. open-end spinning means into which fibres are fed in a discrete manner and in which the fibres are formed in a yarn,

c. conveying means for conveying fibrous material from the feed means to the spinning means in a conveying path in which the fibres are subjected to an opening action,

. a rotatable opening roller included in said conveying means and having an apertured peripheral wall from the fibres on the opening roller through apertures in the peripheral wall,

means, providing a fibre removal zone spaced from i the suction zone in'the direction of rotation of the opening roller, the fibre removal passage withdrawing fibres from the outer surface of the opening roller and feeding them in discrete manner to the spinning means and i I g. a stationary insert which is surrounded by the peripheral wall of the opening roller and wherein said .insert acts as a baffle to impede the flow of air between the fibre removal passage and the suction means. 7

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the suction zone is spaced from the opening zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller and the spacing of the suction zone from the opening zone allows the fibres to be openlyarranged on the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller before reaching the suction zone.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there is provided trash removal means providing a trash removal zone spaced from the suction zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller, the trash removal means being arranged to remove trash from the fibres outwardly from the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller. 4. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein the said feed meanscomprises a feed roller to which a supply of fibrous material is fed and from which fibrous material is transferred to the opening roller with an opening action in the opening zone.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a casing surrounds the opening roller, and wherein an air inlet is provided for supplying air into said casing between the suction zone and the fibre removal zone.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the insert has a cut-away portion which provides a communication between the air inlet and the fibre removal zone, and wherein the insert acts as a baffle to impede the flow of air from the air inlet to the suction zone.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the suc-' tion means includes a slot terminating adjacent the internal surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller, the slot being defined by a second cut-away portion of the insert, a portion of the casing and a portion of an annular web of the opening roller which connects an edge of the peripheral wall to a central shaft for rotation by drive means.

,8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said suction means includes a suction duct connected to said slot and extending from the casing substantially parallel to but spaced from the axis of the opening roller, the duct conveying the impurities to waste from the casing.

9. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein there is provided trash removal means providing a trash removal zone spaced from the suction zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller, the trash removal means being arranged to remove trash from the fibres outwardly from the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller, and wherein the trash removal means includes a further duct formed in the casing and terminating in an aperture adjacent the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller.

10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the further duct has a stripping edge associated therewith for tures in the peripheral wall of the opening roller comprise first apertures spaced around the circumference of the peripheral wall of the opening roller and extending radially therethrough and second apertures spaced around the circumference of the peripheral wall of the opening roller and extending therethrough at an oblique angle to a plane which is at right angles to the axis of the opening roller, the first and second apertures being circular in cross section. 

1. Apparatus for the open-end spinning of textile yarns comprising: a. feed means, b. open-end spinning means into which fibres are fed in a discrete manner and in which the fibres are formed in a yarn, c. conveying means for conveying fibrous material from the feed means to the spinning means in a conveying path in which the fibres are subjected to an opening action, d. a rotatable opening roller included in said conveying means and having an apertured peripheral wall on the outer surface of which the fibres are conveyed in a portion of the conveying path, the opening roller opening the fibres in an opening zone in the path described by the peripheral wall of the opening roller, e. suction means for applying suction internally of the roller in a suction zone which extends over a portion only of the path described by the peripheral wall of the opening roller, to remove impurities from the fibres on the opening roller through apertures in the peripheral wall, f. a fibre removal passage included in said conveying means, providing a fibre removal zone spaced from the suction zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller, the fibre removal passage withdrawing fibres from the outer surface of the opening roller and feeding them in discrete manner to the spinning means and g. a stationary insert which is surrounded by the peripheral wall of the opening rollEr and wherein said insert acts as a baffle to impede the flow of air between the fibre removal passage and the suction means.
 2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the suction zone is spaced from the opening zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller and the spacing of the suction zone from the opening zone allows the fibres to be openly arranged on the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller before reaching the suction zone.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein there is provided trash removal means providing a trash removal zone spaced from the suction zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller, the trash removal means being arranged to remove trash from the fibres outwardly from the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the said feed means comprises a feed roller to which a supply of fibrous material is fed and from which fibrous material is transferred to the opening roller with an opening action in the opening zone.
 5. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein a casing surrounds the opening roller, and wherein an air inlet is provided for supplying air into said casing between the suction zone and the fibre removal zone.
 6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the insert has a cut-away portion which provides a communication between the air inlet and the fibre removal zone, and wherein the insert acts as a baffle to impede the flow of air from the air inlet to the suction zone.
 7. Apparatus according to claim 6 wherein the suction means includes a slot terminating adjacent the internal surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller, the slot being defined by a second cut-away portion of the insert, a portion of the casing and a portion of an annular web of the opening roller which connects an edge of the peripheral wall to a central shaft for rotation by drive means.
 8. Apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said suction means includes a suction duct connected to said slot and extending from the casing substantially parallel to but spaced from the axis of the opening roller, the duct conveying the impurities to waste from the casing.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein there is provided trash removal means providing a trash removal zone spaced from the suction zone in the direction of rotation of the opening roller, the trash removal means being arranged to remove trash from the fibres outwardly from the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller, and wherein the trash removal means includes a further duct formed in the casing and terminating in an aperture adjacent the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller.
 10. Apparatus according to claim 9 wherein the further duct has a stripping edge associated therewith for stripping trash from the fibres carried on the outer surface of the peripheral wall of the opening roller.
 11. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the air inlet includes adjusting means whereby the amount of air entering the casing to said inlet may be varied.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the fibre removal means comprise a passage formed in the casing and extending substantially tangentially to the opening roller.
 13. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the apertures in the peripheral wall of the opening roller comprise first apertures spaced around the circumference of the peripheral wall of the opening roller and extending radially therethrough and second apertures spaced around the circumference of the peripheral wall of the opening roller and extending therethrough at an oblique angle to a plane which is at right angles to the axis of the opening roller, the first and second apertures being circular in cross section. 